Democracy will decide Taiwan's future, says pro-independence presidential front runner as she slams Ma Ying-jeou's meeting with Xi Jinping
Historic meeting between Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou only deepened Taiwanese people's anxiety, says opposition presidential front runner
Only the people of Taiwan can decide its future and will do so in elections in January, the island's opposition leader and presidential front runner said on Sunday, as the mainland's top newspaper warned peace was at risk if it opted for independence.
A day after President Xi Jinping and his Taiwanese counterpart Ma Ying-jeou held historic talks in Singapore, Tsai Ing-wen, leader of Taiwan's independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, said the meeting had done nothing to make Taiwanese people feel safer.
"Only the majority public opinion on January 16 can decide Taiwan's future and cross-strait relations," Tsai wrote.
Read more: Full coverage of Xi-Ma summit
At the summit in neutral Singapore - the first get-together of both sides' leaders since civil war ended in 1949 - Xi told Ma they must not let proponents of Taiwan's independence split them. Ma called for mutual respect for each other's systems.
Tsai said Ma's performance had angered many people in Taiwan, and that what he did was not representative of mainstream public opinion.
"As a nation's leader, President Ma did not make his people proud or feel safe. Instead, he created more anxiety," she wrote.
The Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan after losing the civil war to the Communists, who are still in charge in Beijing. Both agree there is "one China" but agree to disagree on the interpretation.
